Dancing away with my heart
by Maloui
Summary: When a special song came up on the radio, Paige McCullers is reminded of a summer 25 years ago. Paily One-Shot.


Paige McCullers drove on the Interstate 5 north from Los Angeles to Bakersfield where her father was living in a nursing home. After her mother had died a year ago, her father had had to be moved. He wasn't able to take care of himself because of Alzheimer's. Half the time he couldn't even recognize his own daughter. It was his 72th birthday today and Paige hoped it would be one of the good days.

Half through the drive, when Paige was starting to feel a little tired she turned up the volume of her car's radio because the host announced a song she hadn't had heard for a really long time.

 _I finally asked you to dance_

 _On the last slow song_

 _Beneath that moon that was really a disco ball_

 _I can still feel my head on your shoulder_

 _Hoping that song would never be over_

While Paige listened to the first verse, her thoughts drifted back to a summer 25 years ago.

* * *

It was the summer after graduation and before heading off to Stanford. She had decided to head out to Cape Coral, Florida with her best friends Shana and Sydney to celebrate the start of adult life. They were staying in a hotel right next to the beach for almost a week now. Their vacation was heading to the end and the three of them wished they could stay forever instead of flying back to California. Back home they would each pack up their stuff and leave for college. Paige and Shana would go to Stanford with full scholarships for swimming, Sydney to Pepperdine where she wouldn't be swimming competitively anymore. So basically, this summer was probably the last vacation the three of them would spend together for a long time.

This evening, their last evening, there was some Hawaiian theme party at the beach which the girls wanted to attend. Well, except for Paige who wasn't feeling like wearing some stupid flower necklace and skirt to match the party's theme. She had drunken way too much the last couple of days and wanted to spend a nice and quiet last evening at the beach. Shana and Sydney couldn't be convinced so they convinced Paige instead.

Now Paige was sitting at a table in the middle of a party which was about to change her life.

"You wanna drink something?" Shana asked. "My treat."

"We'll have what you're having." Sydney replied before Paige could order something non-alcoholic. There was no way Sydney would let Paige drink water the whole evening. Maybe with some alcohol Paige would find herself some fun in this.

"Can you believe it? Vacation is already over and we're about to go to college." Paige noted.

"What's with you tonight? Let's not think about it. We still have this evening. Let's make it a night to remember!" Sydney was totally excited.

Paige smiled. Somehow her friend had a point. Once she was at Stanford she would have to be training like all the time to keep up. Stanford wasn't like High school. She had to be in absolute best shape to keep her spot on the team. Why not enjoy this last evening of freedom?

"Fine. I promise to be good tonight and try to enjoy myself."

Shana was back at the table. "Jeez, it's not easy to get a real drink here for an 18-year-old."

"Still, somehow you managed to come back with those three beautiful looking beers in your hands."

"Nobody can resist my charm, have you forgotten?" Shana joked.

"Yeah, I bet that blonde at the bar needed much convincing. I can see her phone number written on your right hand." Sydney laughed out loudly.

"God, Shana. Can you keep it in your pants for one night, please?" Paige snapped.

"It's not my fault you didn't get laid on this trip, McCullers." Shana replied defensively.

"It's not everybody's goal to have sex all the time."

"I think you definitely need to find a girl who's giving you what you need. And believe me, you really do need it. Your mood is terrible."

Sydney hit her hand on the table. "Stop it! We're here to enjoy ourselves, not attacking each other."

Paige held up her hand in surrender. "Not my fault."

Shana was about to start the next round but a sharp look from Sydney shut her up.

About two hours of dancing and some beers later, Shana was now sitting on that blonde's lap since she had ended her shift about half an hour ago.

"God, I can't believe her. Six nights in a row she's picking up some random chick."

"Leave her alone, Paige. Let her have some fun before all the learning and training starts again."

"Yah, whatever." Paige leaned back in her chair and took a sip from her beer. She had enough of this party and wanted to be either in her bed or somewhere on this beach with less people around.

"Come on, Paige. Don't be so grumpy. Isn't there anyone at this party who seems nice to you?"

"Now you, too?" Paige said in disbelieve. "I don't need to have sex with some complete stranger."

Paige was tired of all the comments she had to hear the last couple of days. Yes, she hadn't had a girlfriend for a really long time now but she wasn't the kind of person who was hopping into bed with someone and forget all about it the next day.

"I'm not talking about that and you know it. What about talking to a nice girl, have a drink with her? Maybe even a dance?"

"Well, there's nobody at this party except for loud snobby girls who drank too much."

Paige looked at a table not far from them. There were four girls sitting at that table which had gotten onto Paige's nerves the whole evening. Especially that blonde chick was extremely loud and annoying with her comments about all those superhot guys at the party and her stupid dance on the table she had performed a while ago.

But there was this one girl at that table which seemed to enjoy this party as much as Paige did and that was what made her interesting to Paige. That girl looked absolutely stunning but Paige would never find the courage to walk over there and talk to her. With her long raven hair and her the beautiful naturally tanned skin she looked like a goddess. How on earth would someone like that talk to her?

"I don't know. To me it seems it's just that one blonde girl who is really annoying. Look at the other three of them. They seem less snobby and drunk. Especially that hot black haired girl. What about her, Paige?"

"She would never talk to me. Look at her. She is a goddess and so out of my league."

"So you _did_ notice her?" Sydney smiled.

"I did, about an hour ago or so." Paige admitted in a monotone voice like it was nothing special at all. "I'm not going to talk to her. Besides, I can't leave you sitting at this table all by yourself."

"Come on, it's worth a shot, isn't it? Just go over there and ask her to have a drink with you. I'll be fine."

* * *

"Em, I'm pretty sure that girl over there with the orange top and the blue flower necklace is staring at you." Spencer said to her friend Emily.

"No she's probably looking at Hanna because she's about to dance on the table again." Emily pulled Hanna back into her chair to prevent that dance from happening for the second time this night. Emily had spent way too much time at this party. She hadn't even wanted to come in the first place but was tracked along by her friends Aria, Hanna and Spencer. It was their last evening before their flight back to Philadelphia the next afternoon.

"I don't know, Em. She's still looking and now her friend is as well." Aria mentioned.

"That doesn't have to mean anything." Emily waived it off. "They're probably still talking about Hanna."

"Hey!" Hanna snapped but turned to her beer a second later.

"Go over there and talk to her." Spencer suggested excited.

"No way! I can't just walk up to their table and say Hi." Even the thought of doing that made her nervous as hell. The girl was too beautiful. Emily was sure she would be able to say one word.

"Don't be so shy, Em. She seems nice." Aria pressed.

"And really good looking." Emily blushed admitting that. _Why did I say that?_

"I knew it! You have been checking her out the whole evening, haven't you?" Hanna shouted. The conversation was now more interesting than her beer.

"Okay, okay. Maybe I have but there's not going to happen anything. I won't go over there and she's probably not even interested in talking to me."

"Well, I think you're about to find out." Spencer laughed and pointed in the other table's direction.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked confused.

Her eyes widened in complete shock when she followed Spencer's look. The beautiful girl wasn't at her table anymore. She was walking right over toward Emily. Emily slipped deeper into her chair and put her hand to her forehead. That way she hoped the girl would just walk past their table.

"Hi." The auburn haired girl said and dipped her head shyly. She had stopped right next to Emily's chair. She had come up with all the courage she had to walk over this table full of girls. She just hoped it wouldn't end into a disaster.

"Hi." Emily replied and pulled her hand from her forehead. She even sat back straight up in her chair. Her cheeks were deep red. There was no way out of this anymore.

"Is there a chance of you wanna dance with me?" The girl asked with a barely noticeable voice.

Emily quickly looked at Spencer who nodded in a way only Emily would notice. So she stood up and took the hand which was offered to her by the beautiful auburn haired girl.

She led her to the dancefloor and put her hands on Emily's waist. Emily followed the girls lead and laid her hands on her waist as well. Both tried to avoid looking the other girl in the eye. Just being here with a beautiful looking strange girl was overwhelming enough for both of them.

They were moving to the slow song which was playing in the back. First their movement was a bit stiff but they soon found a perfect rhythm that matched the song.

 _I finally asked you to dance  
On the last slow song  
Beneath that moon that was really a disco ball  
I can still feel my head on your shoulder  
Hoping that song would never be over_

"I'm Paige by the way." The girl introduced herself and looked up.

"Emily." Emily smiled.

Paige responded with a shy smile but soon enough they grew more courageous. There definitely was chemistry between them even they weren't talking. The way they connected on a level beyond Paige's imagination was overwhelming. She felt like she had known this girl for way longer than a minute.

Paige decided to be more couragous and pulled Emily a bit closer. The smile she noticed on Emily's face told her that she had made the right move. She carefully brushed away a strand of hair with her right index finger and tucked it behind Emily's ear. This way she could look into Emily's beautiful dark eyes. Paige thought she could lose herself in those eyes.

"You have beautiful eyes." Paige managed to say.

In response, Emily pulled Paige another bit closer and let her head rest on Paige's shoulder. A warm feeling was passing through their bodies and Paige wondered where this beautiful girl had been all her life.

 _I brushed your curls back so I could see your eyes  
And the way you moved me was like you were in my mind  
I can still feel you lean into kiss me  
I can't help but wonder if you ever miss me_

Together they moved around the dancefloor like they were the only ones around. All the other people dancing around them didn't matter. Slowly, in the rhythm of the song, they became one.

When the song slowly came to an end, Emily lifted her head from Paige's shoulder. Their eyes connected and Paige's heat began to race because she knew what was about to happen. Emily slowly leaned in, still looking at Paige. Just before their lips were about to touch, they closed their eyes. Emily's soft lips landed on Paige's. Paige thought her knees would give in. She felt cold and warm at the same time. This moment right here was beyond perfect. This was a moment she would never forget.

* * *

 _You headed off to college  
At the end of that summer when we lost touch  
I guess I didn't realize even at that moment I lost so much_

 _I haven't seen you in ages_  
 _Sometimes I find myself_  
 _wondering where you are_  
 _for me you'll always be 18_  
 _and beautiful and dancing away with my heart_

At the end of the song Paige turned down the volume. She whipped away a tear form the corner of her eye and concentrated on the road ahead of her.

* * *

 **A/N: I started to watch PLL again before the new episodes will come out in 2 weeks. I came up with this One-Shot after I watched that one episode in season 4 where Emily asked Paige to dance with her on that Western-themed school party. Lady Antebellum's song "Dancing away with my heart" was playing in the back while they were dancing and I thought it was a perfect song for that scene.**

 **Thanks for reading and please review.**

 ** _(Titel and lyrics are not mine of course.)_**


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